Cannabis tea on menu in Fort
A Fort William cafe now offers cannabis tea as one of its many varieties of special and flavoured brews, writes Richard Mason.
However, the brew at Not Just Desserts will not get you high as it only contains cannabidiol (CBD), the legal part of the plant.
Cafe co-owner Helen Smith got the idea to stock cannabis tea from personal experience of pain.
She said: ‘I have a long-term injury and every time I went to the doctor I was given more painkillers and you can end up being dependent on them. It got to the point where I just couldn’t take them anymore, but I was still in pain and felt terrible. Using CBD was a relief from the horrible feeling and took my mind off the pain.
‘Nothing is a miracle cure that will make any ailment disappear, but the benefits are great and it’s a natural remedy.’
CBD has been shown to provide relieve to debilitating conditions like Alzheimer’s, cancer and one study has linked it to healthy weight loss.
While Helen’s son told her she would probably have high school-aged youngsters queuing up for the tea, the customers have been quite the opposite. She said: ‘We have only had it a week, but within half an hour of putting it up on Facebook I had a lady come in who had tried it in Glasgow. She was occasionally using sleeping tablets, but found that CBD did the same job for her. She bought some of the teabags to give it a try.
‘A lot of the people coming in already know about CBD and have used the oils or other products. We had a regular customer in who has tried the tea. He has asked his doctor in the past to prescribe CBD, but was told there is more chance of getting a new hip.’
Medical cannabis can only be prescribed for children and adults with rare and severe forms of epilepsy, or adults with vomiting or nausea caused by chemotherapy, according to the NHS.
Some CBD products bought on the internet can contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which gets you high, but the tea at this cafe contains less than the legal maximum of 0.2 per cent.
The cafe will soon be stocking tea bags to buy separately, a peppermint version of the tea and some CBD oil products.
There has been interest from customers in places such as Inverness and Aberdeen, and other Highland cafes have asked about stocking the same brand.
If you have any medical conditions, you should consult your doctor before using CBD products.